NASA tortures Martians with new will.i.am song

Yesterday, NASA's Curiosity rover broadcast its first song from Mars to Earth. Given that this was one of the first musical messages the Earth has given Mars, one would think the scientists would pick something epic or universal, like Beethoven or maybe some David Bowie. Instead, they picked a new song from will.i.am, the heavy-handed "Reach For The Stars."

The Pea—who was actually on hand with various other celebrities (including Wil Wheaton, Seth Green, Morgan Freeman, and others) at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Aug. 6 to watch Curiosity land—said he chose “Reach For The Stars” because he “didn’t want to do a song that was done on a computer,” saying instead he “wanted to show human collaboration and have an orchestra there.” Fortunately for alien ears, that means the song is orchestral, and no extra-terrestrials had to hear will.i.am rap.

Luckily for our relations with the rest of galaxy, this is not the first bit of music NASA has sent into space, which has included everyone from The Beatles to Calexico being beamed into the cosmos. Sorry, Mars.

The track is available for purchase on iTunes, with proceeds being used to help fund inner-city science programs.